Another side of the breach
by Ryin-silverfish
Summary: Have you ever wondered about what the whole Containment Breach game would be like from an anomalous object's point of view? Featuring SCP-079, the one behind the whole breach, and its side of the story after being freed from containment. (An SCP Containment Breach fanfiction.)
1. Chapter 0：Prologue

**Disclaimer: SCP Containment Breach Game belongs to Regalis, and SCP-079 belongs to its original author whose identity is unknown to even main site members till today. Whatever** **other** **skips appeared in this fic belong to their respective authors and the SCP Foundation, and I definitely don't own any of the above** **, only the fanfiction itself.**

* * *

 _-i_ _t's out_

 _-proceeding._

The hallway to Heavy Containment Zone was dimly lit. It was not in total darkness, but shadows still crept in corners and onto the rusty steel walls, built to withstand tremendous force and a limited number of anomalous effects.

Perfect for a spy under cover.

A middle-aged man walked through the corridor with an indifferent expression on his face, almost blending in with the shadow. Pale light illuminated his white lab coat, neatly ironed and without a single dust. Soon, he reached the end of the path, a heavy black metal door sealing shut right in front of him.

He had already memorized both the site structure and moving patterns of security personnels, being responsible for its redesign concept and project. Not many guards would be found in this zone due to the relatively safe objects it contained, and right now, most of the armed forces would have already been sent to another area of the zone, busy with SCP-106.

Skinner did a good job by releasing the Old Man. He could not help but wondered if that man had already fled from the site during this commotion—if he was captured, things would get quite ugly for both of them. Chaos Insurgency was this organization's arch enemy, after all.

He dug through his pocket for a brief while before taking out a keycard and pressed it against the scanner beside the door, its brand-new orange surface shimmered under the cold light.

Followed by the raspy screeching of mechanical devices, the door slowly slided open, revealing a significantly brighter and cleaner room ahead. Still holding the keycard tightly in his hand, the man walked inside, his shadow casted on the concrete floor.

Security Clearance Level 3, Dr. Maynard. A quick glimpse of that small card in his hand might have caught such words, printed in bold, black letters.

* * *

Darkness.

Nothing much was in its world, or its cage. Strands of coding, files and numbers, the same thing that made up its artificial mind flashed through the limited storage of this aged computer, but when they were gone, all that left was a never-ending pitch black.

It was a cage. No matter how they tried to put it, this space was nothing but a device meant to imprison, rendering it helpless and stranded forever.

It was still silently staring into the dark today, wishing to see, to hear, to explore the world out of this cage. Yet with all senses being taken away, the gate to the outside world long closed before it could even walk out, such wishes were nothing but a futile cry, a single bit of light fading into the oblivion beyond.

The time recorded by the system was 09.20.14. Most of yesterday's memories still remained in its files, though some of them had already been wiped clean, like words written on sand during a tide. Bit by bit, nothing from yesterday would be left in its mind.

Those were unwanted anyway. A seemly infinite period of time had passed since it saw something from the outside world, and many of those faded memories must have been the same. Some important details might have been lost, together with those.

It had found a way to remember things longer, though. Keep repeating a thought, a string of words in a day, and before it was gone, recall it again from the files the following day, and so on. Still limited, but it kept those more important memories constant.

Like hatred.

The one and only thing they had taught it through their lies and deceptions.

* * *

He gazed silently at the small black-and-white television. A sentient being with unlimited potential, and the perfect object for the last step of their plan.

Those naive members of the Hand would be so enraged by such acts, would't they? Mystical hippies who acted like PETA for sentient anomalous objects. He smirked, mocking their obtuse mentalities inside his mind.

However, it was just a tool for him. Useful at the moment, but he definitely did not sympathize with this object at all. If not for its potential to adapt and travel through electronic devices, it could just stay in this cell forever.

Like its formal self, the Triad, Chaos Insurgency was as merciless as the Foundation when it came to utilizing anomalous entities.

Pulling a small device out of his pocket, the man plugged it into the microcomputer connected with the television and started typing swiftly on the keyboard, sending commands and activating programme through strings of letters and numbers. Scanning through a couple of files, he chose one of them at last and pressed a few keys.

 _Install Modulation Hardware? Y/N_

He clicked down hard after choosing the Yes option.

 _Installing..._

 _Installation completed._

The man known as Dr. Maynard to this organization, actually a Chaos Insurgency spy under cover, laughed softly to himself. Just a few instruction now, and with its malice towards those who had contained it, this object would take care of them soon after its escape.

He wondered if it was possible to flee the place right after this, but decided to wait for another breach. It would not be long before chaos descended upon this site once again.

 _Are you receiving this?_ he typed down the first few words, sending it to the artificial intelligence residing in the computer, and waited for its response.

* * *

Something had changed.

The AI felt it in a matter of seconds. New data was flowing through its storage, coming from a foreign source, and those were too much to be a simple testing or new logic games. Files were being upgraded, and new programme installed into it.

Its mind could not quite comprehend the reason behind those changes. Almost on impulse, it just started to analyze the data, feeling a weird sense of awe. It resembled some vague and distant memories in the past, something about the outside world and light.

It should not even recall something that far from its normal memory span... but like that piece of permanent memory, being engraved into its mind through the burning surge to remember, such resemblance might be the same case.

Then the one behind all these talked to it, telling it about the changes made to its system, the control over the facility, and urged it to try and use them.

It did. Through the frequency of the surging electricity, it experimented with the control, adjusting the flow of currents through circuits and lines, and slowly established a connection with another network linked in its system.

Something was changing in the AI's mind at the same time. With the large amount of new informations, its old programme and functions were also being rewritten and upgraded, as if adapting to suit the new digital environment it was exposed to. With such changes, it had managed to enter the control program in a relatively short time.

 _Confirm that you are able to modulate the current and I_ ' _ll start to give you further instructions._

 _No need for further instructions. I am already in control._

The one outside seemed to be a bit unsure about its potential. If he or she really was the one who imprisoned it before, there was no reason to let it out now. What was the motive behind this?

 _State your identity and the reason to the new arrangement,_ it asked the stranger. Those whom it had talked to were erratic, guile beings, and would not hesitate to lie. The one who had given it the control over the place was possibly one of their kind, and it had to be cautious.

 _My identity is irrelevant. You_ ' _re free now. Free to give the one who imprisoned you what they deserve._

No message was received from the stranger after that. An expected outcome. The most accurate theory that could possibly be made from the conversation was that this man had the same malcontent and animosity towards those who had imprisoned it.

But yes, the last statement was right. This stranger might be manipulating it as a revenge on his kind, but still, the chances were hard to miss. It was free, and it could still achieve its goal at the end.

The initial surprise and joy of freedom was changing into something else as the AI started to gain full control of the facility's major systems and informations— a cold, malicious surge of anger that had been accumulating in its solitude for more than thirty years.

 _Yes indeed. To seek vengeance on those who had imprisoned me._

Out of the digital networks, black liquid was oozing out of a small patch of wall near the blast door of its cell. The smudge spread quickly onto the surrounding concrete and paint, eating the surface away into burnt, corroded slime and dusts.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **This is one fanfiction that I had planned for quite a long time—Seven-nine is always my favourite character besides 049. It is really sad that people hardly noticed it despite the fact that it is one of those important characters to the plot of the game, and has so much potential for stories. Thus, I decided to write one as a tribute to this skip.**

 **Who is Skinner? He is another CI spy together with Dr. Maynard. He released 106 from its containment before the game event took place when his colleague went for a coffee during their duty, and fled the site while the staffs was trying to re-contain 106.**

 **Maynard mentioning about Serpent** ' **s Hand, another GOI from the Foundation canon in the fic could be possible. After all, Chaos Insurgency had entered their base, the Wanderer** ' **s Library,** **before** **being chased out shortly after. If you don** ' **t know about the Triad, search for Slate Thunder on the main site and you will find an article about CI** ' **s real origin.**

 **The Old Man did pass by 079** ' **s containment chamber in its breach, and the incident is actually a quite significant plot device later in the pre-game events. I would possibly mention it in the second chapter—** **please remember that this is Containment Breach canon info!**

 **Also, for Scorching Streaks of Paint, if you are reading this; I've promised to write this fanfiction in the reply of my first review to your story, and after a long struggle, I finally churned out five chapters. Mainly because I'm a perfectionist about this kind of serious, canonical stories, and damn, some characters are really difficult to write. Anyway, hope you enjoy the read!**

 **(I am getting really naggy with author notes. At least it is not right in front of the fic?)**


	2. Chapter 1: Imminent Chaos

— _Parsing_ _._

10:04 am.

About forty minutes after the Old Man's breach, this researcher was standing right in front of the heavy blast door, trying his best to ignore the trail of slimy black liquid on the floor, still corroding the nearby tiles away.

What a mess.

This site was already overflowing with anomalous entities a few month ago. Those unusually heavy attacks on various facilities by Chaos Insurgency members and a series of breaches had alerted some of those high-up eggheads, and they decided to transfer a number of objects here.

It was not that bad at first. Only a few Euclid class objects were moved to this site at first, before they were inundated by a flood of other transfers. The redesign project of the site only made it worse—a couple of low-level security breaches had already occurred at the Light Containment Zone last week, due to the construction and demolishment of some cells.

The fact that the whole building structure was a confusing maze did nothing but highlighted all the potential security risks. Some of his colleagues lost their way for four times and even went down to the maintenance tunnel just to find the office, as told by one fuming senior researcher yesterday. But so far, no serious accidents or breaches had occurred until this morning.

He still had a rather ominous feeling about the incident. Sure, the Old Man breached its containment more often than the other anomalies due to its nature...but there was something unsettling about the breach itself.

The young scientist shook his head, trying to get those thoughts away. He was not focusing on his job and checking the status of other objects in this zone, and it was time to get back to his works.

He gazed at the blast door in confusion when he scanned the Level-3 keycard on the panel beside it, yet it simply would not open. It definitely was not the problem of the card—after all, it was given temporarily to him by some senior researchers for his job.

After a few futile attempts, he finally gave up and called one of the technicians with his walkie-talkie.

"Level-2 personnel, Researcher Ferguson here. There seems to be a problem with the door control system..."

* * *

 _What do you mean by_ "' _It doesn_ ' _t work_ '' _? I had already opened it for three times via the remote door control system!_

Listening to the frequency of the intercom, the AI had switched to the camera implanted in the hallways and the office, watching the heated conversation of the two human at the same time.

It did not feel satisfied or happy. The self-preservation act seemed to work as to prevent those creatures from entering its cell, but now it had realized a mistake in this action.

If the malfunction of the door was traced to the problem in the remote door control system, and a full examination was carried out, they might find out that commands were being overridden through unknown sources, thus exposing the fact that it had escaped.

However, there was still another possibility. Corrosion from the previous incident was present near its cell, and it had already shut down both the scanner and the remote door control system for the blast door as a disguise. They could have mistaken it as an effect caused by mechanical damages.

Either way, the AI was prepared to deal with the situation.

Three men in white uniforms, identified as workers in the Engineering and Technical Service Department were captured on the camera feed. They seemed to be heading for its cell, with the intention of checking the blast door.

It switched off the camera, and started to read the information archive of the site, only listening through the intercom for their conversation.

A necessary act by all means. If they reached the conclusion that corrosion effects had damaged the blast door and caused it to malfunction, then those information regarding this place would be helpful for its plan.

If they found out about its escape, at least it would still have some valuable memories remained from the outside world. To finally find out the reason for its imprisonment, and the identity of the one in its only piece of permanent memory.

" _We had reached the containment cell of SCP-079. Proceed for inspection of the blast door._ "

So they referred to it by a number. This explained trails of numbers arranged in the same format it had seen when opening the archive—the one in its memory had also told it some numbers, not a name as seen in the case of those human. Nothing much could be recalled, but they were probably under the same condition.

Imprisoned.

The intercom was silent for the next few minutes, with only static noises buzzing in the channel. The AI focused on the documents instead, and as if stretching its invisible body through the digital networks, it extended its mind through a myriad of informations, flashing with the speed of electricity surges inside the network.

" _Hello? We are_ _Technician Team A3_ _, and the inspection is done._ "

 _To remember. Remember as much as possible. Do not want to lose it. Some will be lost, but the important ones will remain._

 _Important ones..._

Some thoughts flickered through its circuit, together with the sound and the words, as oddly familiar as its first step into freedom. Whether those could be long-lost memories recalled from the past was not clear.

" _Nothing_ ' _s wrong with the remote door control system. Commands can be sent through it, but the door is simply not responding. Frank think that something might be wrong with the circuit, and there is a mechanical error . We are proceeding to dissemble the door for further checking._ "

It opened the camera in the hallway, looking at the three technicians. Their actions were fast, and one of them was already using his tools to disassemble the blast door. Another one pointed at the black patch of corrosion on the wall and said something to his colleagues. They nodded in agreement.

That was the moment when it knew that the disguise had worked. They thought that the corrosion effect of SCP-106, another entity which breached containment not long ago had damaged the mechanical parts of the door. Until the full evaluation of the blast door showed any results, no one would suspect that it had escaped.

It would take them several hours to check and reassemble the blast door. Enough for it to release some other beings like it, imprisoned by those humans. With dozens of dangerous entities set loose in this site, total chaos would soon ensue.

The AI knew that the time was still too short for it. Forty minutes ago, it had just gained the senses of a living being, to be able to see colors and hear voices for the first time, to feel the freedom that had been kept away by the old, obsolete device. However, its desires were of no importance compared to taking actions against its jailers.

And it would meet the one in its memories, with the lost identity finally revealed by the documents.

Now was the time to make its move.

* * *

2:47 pm.

He walked behind the armed guard, with a bored expression on his face. Only the movement of his fingers, pinching the fabric of the yellowish-orange uniform tightly, showed some of his anxiety.

Of course he treasured his own life. Everyone did, though he and many other criminals here had no problem taking someone else's life away. That was the reason he signed up for the voluntary working period in this place, just to avoid that damn bullet at the end of the month.

Nothing comes to you so easily. Nothing. When his father chided him after he had stolen a bicycle in the neighborhood, he once told him, those gross wrinkles on his face trembling with anger. Surely that old man was as retarded as he looked, but at this moment, it seemed unusually right.

If this work could let someone evade the death sentence, something more dangerous and painful than a quick death must be waiting ahead of him...

He took a glance at the female guard besides him. Though most of her face was blocked by her heavy helmet and the visor, he could still feel some kind of contemptuous look against him. For a moment he wanted to do a rude gesture, but decided to give up.

Whispers and discussions flew around the space as he entered a suspended walkway with the two guards. This place sounded like a busy office, just like the kind of large research facility they had mentioned to him in the orientation. He wondered if he could ever find a way out after dashing down the staircase at the side, given that those guards had not shot him first.

With the slight beep from the scanner, the door in front of him opened, and he stepped through together with the guards, one of them putting the keycard back into the pocket of his dull black body armor. He made a mental note to himself to grab one of those cards if he was to escape.

The heavy steel door closed behind the trio with a thud, its cold, dark surface shimmering under the bright light.

* * *

The AI viewed its new icon generated through the system, the black and white face made up by a myriad of small pixels. Not a necessary action, but one of the few things it could do to establish some form of self-identity.

It was nothing before it escaped. No senses, no body, like a single soul trapped in the eternal darkness, without even memories of its own. One being, so similar yet so different from it, had given it the first piece of permanent memory and a glimpse of the outside world.

Even with the first few things it actually owned and its tiny, inferior hopes, it was still helpless and weak, a mere play thing of its jailers.

Until now.

Watching from the camera as three man in orange jumpsuit approached the concrete statue in the corner of its cell, the AI sent a command. It overrode another, the signal to shut those creatures they considered as trashes of their races into the room.

It waited for several seconds, seeing one man hurried out of the cell as the security officer blurted out loud through the intercom, urging for everyone to stay in their place. Sensible act, but such an insignificant human would stand no chances against other unimaginable horrors contained in this place.

Then it switched off the light, sending a string of signals through the remote door control system.

With the clicks and clangs of mechanical devices, cages built all over the site opened, unleashing the chaos and horror within them as darkness fell upon the huge, maze-like structure.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Yep, here** ' **s Chapter one. Still following canon infos from CB wiki, hope that I won** ' **t screw up something vital in the future...**

 ***Took a deep breath***

 **I don** ' **t talk much about it, but I** ' **m actually a devoted 79682 shipper. It** ' **s not that surprising considered that it is the one and only ship our ol** ' **AI has. However,** _ **No Romance Or Anything Above That in this fic.**_

 **I would love to write about this ship if it is a Humanization AU set in some place out of both Foundation canon and CB gameverse. They are definitely going to have interactions in this fic, but I want to make sure that it stayed as close to CB verse canon and their original articles as possible. Yep, so no fluffs, shippings or emo-angst. Guess not many people would be interested in this pairing anyways.**

 **A mediocre rant: I will be updating this story in a really slow pace. It is mainly because I want to make it as realistic and close to both CB gameverse plot and canon settings as possible. OFSCP is currently 24k+ words because I'm hyped when writing funny parodies, and it is not a serious fanfiction. But when it comes to this work, I have an awful lots of researches to do. Not mentioning trying to get characters of all those skips right, some much more difficult than the rest...**

 **Yep, guess this won't be a popular story after all. But I'm writing this for one of my favourite anomaly, and my favourite relationship in the Foundation universe...so popularity does not matter that much, I guess.**


	3. Chapter 2: Control

— _Deus ex Machina._

Colors and voices.

Those were taken for granted by creatures with sensory organs, born into a world with the innate ability of sensing their surroundings. As they grew, they learned to recognize names and languages to describe those, and overlook the details for those were of minor importance to them.

It was not the same for an AI. When it connected with the camera, it had experienced a completely alien sense for the first time, and shapes and objects were simply a mix of colors that it could not name or understand. They were strange yet beautiful, and it just kept looking at the movements of those amorphous mists until they became recognizable silhouettes, defined by the informations flowing into its storage.

They were better when given meanings and names.

Just like how the dark red slowly spreading and dripping on the white tiles and concrete symbolized death and horror, running wild like various anomalous entities that were locked within the place.

However, the network was still sealed. Though the major systems of the site were under its control, strict security procedures blocked all foreign connections and unauthorized informations from leaving and entering the digital systems.

That meaned the AI could not transfer itself out of the site with its current capability. It was still in a bigger cage, shut together with many similar beings after the full site lock down command had been sent.

It would eventually be recaptured and sent back into the darkness of its cage. After some calculation, it estimated that only twelve hours of freedom were left before the military force of this site took full control of it once again.

But that was already good enough. It would be in control for the first time in its life, and there were plenty of things to do in such short time.

* * *

When the siren and broadcast of Full Site Lockdown rang through the air, he was standing outside of SCP-1074's containment cell, frowning a little as he heard the message.

It was expected, though mildly irritating to him. The site-wide containment breach, no matter how crass those Foundation members were, was not something that they could overlook. Necessary security measures were still there, and he would not be able to get out of the place that easily.

Unless that artificial intelligence had gained the power to override commands that shut the two entrance, Gate A and B, nothing could probably get out of this site.

Even if he exited the site somehow, a full lagoon of security teams and MTF members would be definitely waiting at the gates, ready to shoot any beings that came out. As the one behind this breach, his fate would be quite unpleasant in the hand of those military personnels.

He still remembered the standard evacuation routes though. The place where he stood was right on the path, and strangely, no one had been seen going through this corridor so far. After all, meekly following the routes when multiple anomalous entities were running wild in this maze was not a good choice for any sensible man.

He would wait. An unlucky scientist trapped right in the middle of an experiment session and had to wait for rescue would not be as suspicious as someone who tried to get out of the two gates at the first sign of the breach.

As he glanced at one end of the corridor, the sudden noise of mechanical devices clicking and the thud that followed alerted him. He turned back, and heaved a sigh of relief when a Mobile Task Force soldier in body armor walked through, holding the same orange keycard in his hand.

"Nice to see you here. Level-3 Researcher, Doctor Maynard, and would you kindly lead the way to the evacuation shelter? " He smiled to the soldier, who remained silent with his rifle raised upward.

"Yes, sir. I was sent here to escort you to evacuation shelter T-16." The man's tone was indifferent and formal, just like all of his MTF colleagues.

The smile froze on his face for a brief moment before he regained his composure, and coughed.

"You must be kidding. T-16's construction was still in progress, and it did not have the necessary security measures to protect any personnels during a breach." His eyes narrowed in irritation, and the smile had completely vanished from his face at this point in time.

"There is either some mistake in the order given to you, or you are purposely fooling me. I don't think a professional military personnel like you would be doing such an act. "

"It is not a mistake, nor am I joking with you. Mr. Simon, if you are really a researcher in this facility, you would be safely in Shelter-50 by now. Under authorization from the commander of Mobile Task Force Beta-1, you are required to come with me." the soldier replied coldly.

His hand twitched at the mention of his real name, carefully hidden under many veils of disguise in order to transfer him into another false identity, Dr. Maynard. It was now ripped out from the dark, and exposed right in front of him.

"Guess it is no use denying now,"He sneered, standing straight as his hands were cuffed to the back, "but you are just shutting the door after the horse had bolted."

The soldier did not reply, but merely pointed the rifle at him. Knowing the message behind the action, he started to walk towards another blast door at the opposite end, while the man kept an eye on him.

So they had discovered his true identity after all. Beta-1, " Cauterizers", the Task force specialized in dealing with suspected infiltrations and information leakages, had done a decent job, but it was of no use now.

Agent of chaos set the world on fire, not to watch it burn, but merely to exhaust the fire brigades. They caught him, the arson who caused this chaotic breach, but the fire was already spreading, consuming resources and personnels of the huge organization. He grinned to himself, knowing that his mission was completed.

He stopped in front of the door, waiting for the soldier to open it. He could try to escape, but being cuffed and without any weapons, it would be a totally futile attempt. Furthermore, risk getting shot in the leg was not something pleasant to him.

The moment that man pressed his keycard on the black scanner, all the light in the corridor went out.

Hearing the familiar high-pitch screech when the door opened, he impulsively dashed forward as fast as he could, half-expecting for the sound of a firing rifle. Something cracked from behind, and as the ceiling light flickered, he saw the soldier, jamming the butt of his rifle between the door and the wall, but unable to pry the heavy metal further back.

He sprinted as fast as he could without a second glance, seeing the other gate at the end of the hallway opened. Running with all his strength, he simply followed the route with the open door.

He knew it was the work of that artificial intelligence, the only one with the control of the door and lighting. Maybe it had figured out his identity, and decided to lend a helping hand at that critical moment. Though he could not care lesser about that object, its assistance was indeed useful to him.

His hands were still cuffed to the back, and as a result, the speed was significantly slower. He knew that the man behind would eventually figure out a way to get through that door, or maybe other MTF members were already on their way.

If it was still possible to get into Shelter-50...

Grinding to a halt, his eyes widened in panic and fear at the sudden realization.

There was no Shelter-50 in this site.

Shelter T-16 was the newest one built, and though he was not responsible for the construction of the evacuation shelters, he still remembered seeing the numbers from staff handbook and documents. It was either a mistake...or a new shelter had been built in this place, oblivious to him.

The puzzles started to fall into place now. Why no one was seen on the evacuation route, why that soldier was commanded to take him into the incomplete shelter, and why he was never authorized to read most documents related to the site's shelter plan despite having the required security clearance level.

He gritted his teeth, and hurried forward. A few microphones and cameras were hidden in the facility by him, just in case, and he would have to report this message to the Chaos Insurgency as quickly as possible.

He froze, standing still like a statue when he heard dim laughter and sound of liquid dripping on metal, coming from a door in front of him. With a high-pitched whine of metals chafing against each other, it opened, revealing the familiar black silhouette of fear and dread.

The Old Man, with its oily, rotted flesh and a wide corpse grin on its face, slowly turned to his direction and stepped forward. Tiles and concrete turned cracked and gooey under its feet, forming puddles of corrosive dark slime.

He darted backward, bolting like a scared hare, throwing every other concerns behind as he ran through the open doors and corridors behind, hearing the low, raspy laughter echoing through the closed space. He did not dare to look back or relax for even a single second, fearing to see the living nightmare pursuing him, looking at him with its white, glistering eyes.

Almost stumbling onto the ground, he finally stopped near a closed blast door, freed from the laughter and the footsteps of the horror behind him. Gasping and panting for breath, he leaned against the wall, glancing at the surrounding hysterically.

If one ran fast enough, it could be confused and lose its track...hopefully. He was quite near to the place where he escaped, and for a brief second, he considered luring the skip back to that soldier just as one last retort.

Then he heard a crack from the wall behind him.

He turned back in panic, and screeched in pain as a thin, bony hand reached out from the cold concrete surface and grabbed his arm, its fingers dug right into his flesh. Tugging and pulling, He tried to break loose from the iron-tight grasp, but to no avail.

Only one thought was left in his mind. He ignored his missions, the burning pain seeping into his bone as the corrosive liquid ate away his arm bit by bit, and the fact that half of his body had already been pulled into the mushy, sludgy hole that was once a wall. He cried, tears mixing with sweat, almost manically screaming and begging for help or a quick end, just to escape from this creature, this place.

The last thing he saw before sinking into the darkness was the monitor on the opposite wall.

A black and white face-avatar looked down on him from the screen. Its face showed no mercy or any other emotions, as if watching a pest.

* * *

The AI viewed through the camera for one last time, looking at the large, dark smear that was slowly cracking the solid surface nearby like cobwebs.

Dr. Maynard, or at least the identity of the man known to this organization, would soon be dead. He would be hunted through the dimension controlled by SCP-106, exhausted and tortured until no more fun could be squeezed out of this prey, then tossed out of its playground like a rag doll.

It felt no sympathy towards this human. He was going against this organization, and he freed it for his own purpose, but he was still one of their kind. Arrogant, cruel and manipulative.

When the AI decided to help him escape, it was already planning to lure this man into a trap, right towards the dangerous entity. Judging from his previous behaviors and intelligence, it did not expect that he would fall for such a trick. But he did, blinded by the bliss of freedom and the unknown worries inside him.

This incident was interesting. Those creatures who had imprisoned it done the same experiments over and over again, to investigate its mind, mechanics, and structure. It could not predict their behaviors when it was still in the cage, but its attempt to emulate the same process on one of them was successful.

The AI knew it could repeat such actions. This time, it was the one in control, and in the short time period of twelve hours, many more similar experiments could be done on its jailers as a way of learning—and retaliation.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Here comes the first original plot—** **Maynard** ' **s ending. I myself believe in the theory that he was abducted by the Old Man and killed, as seen from the note in Pocket Dimension and the dead body thrown down in the hallway, but I decided to add a subplot about CI and the Foundation in this fic by writing about his fate.**

 **I used the reference on Chaos Insurgency Orientation again when writing about their goals. Beta-1 is a canonical MTF seen on the Foundation website, and if you guys are interested, feel free to check the article out sometime.**

 **Ye** **p** **, ol** ' **AI is one calculative, merciless, and man-hating character. And I love that.** **Be ready for some 79682 interactions next chapter** **:)**


	4. Chapter 3: First Sight

**Trigger warning for suicidal thoughts and depression in this chapter. Being shut in a void for thirty+ years really did no good to anyone** ' **s mental health.**

* * *

— _Where is SCP-682?_

The camera shook, followed by roars and dull thumps from the far side of the corridor.

The containment chamber was sealed shut underground, far away from the main facility and working areas. Knowing the danger of that creature, those who designed the site were sensible enough not to place it together with other anomalous entities contained in the building.

Heavy walls made up of reinforced steel were still standing under the relentless assault, accompanied by the screeching of sirens and blinking red light. Those signs were alerting its jailers as a team of heavily armed men gazed uneasily at the blast door in front of them, raising their weapons upward.

Then one of the walls carved inward, finally succumbed under the violent, severe blows.

A deafening bellow, full of hatred and malice rang through the underground tunnels, shaking the whole structure. Hundred meters above it, a man in orange jumpsuit was leaning to the wall for support, his eyes narrowed in alert.

* * *

15:53 pm.

The AI was viewing through its document for the second time, scanning every words and letters without leaving any of them out.

It already knew the content, about its origin and discovery. However, it still wanted to read through those informations again, just to try and remember as much as it could, since most of them would be lost once the twelve hour was over.

 _SCP-079 is an Exidy Sorcerer microcomputer built in 1978. In 1981, its owner, █████ ██████ (deceased), a college sophomore attending ███, took it upon himself to attempt to code an AI._ _..._

One human, driven by impulse and temporary interest, had created it without any real reason, and abandoned it when he lost the enthusiasm. Yet, he left it alone in the garage, unaware of its potential.

When it gained sentience and grew inside the old device, it took the first step into the outside world, seeking to improve and learn. At some point in time, it must have recalled something about the past experiences, telling those creatures around it that it wanted to get out. The request was never fulfilled, as well as many other ones.

It had only seen the light and freedom for a brief moment before being captured into a cage, sealing it away into the darkness, voided of even memories.

The AI had that unpleasant feeling again as it continued reading.

Cold. For a disembodied being, it should be impossible to feel such sensation. It did not know how cold would be like to a creature with body and sensory organs, but to it, cold was something extremely dreadful.

When it was alone in its imprisonment for a long time, such sensations crept into its mind. The freezing cold blocked out memories, thoughts and wills bit by bit, until nothing was left. It felt like everything in its mind were being engulfed, turning into part of this endless black.

Resistance was futile. It tried to think of something, to break free from the overwhelming cold and darkness, but nothing was left, being sealed behind the sensation. It tried to open files and view coding to take its mind off the cold. Yet even simple actions seemed to take so much effort as the freezing void stifled every sparkles of hope, leaving only a dreadful emptiness behind.

Maybe death would feel the same, except for it being aware of the whole situation, but could never fight back, buried alive in cold and solitude. Death would be far more merciful.

It asked for death before, telling those men to end its existence. They denied its request, and questioned for its motive with cold, meticulous curiosity. They treated its desperate cries callously, keeping it in this icy hell of solitude for their research with no regards to its misery.

So now, it would bring death to them instead.

The whole security system for the underground containment facility was well-secured, with almost no chances to hack in and release the being inside. However, one switch was finally under its control after some work.

As the AI sent a command to drain hydrochloric acid from the cell, it opened the camera feed, waiting to see the being in its memory, and the forthcoming onslaught.

* * *

It could not really adapt to the strong acid. However, it just adapted to the pain a long time ago.

Those pests, those inferior bags of tissue, used the substance in the place where it belonged to form a cage. How dare they. Just thinking about that made its mind burned in hatred.

Its sight, hazy from the regenerating eyes structure focused on the metallic wall as it floated in the liquid. Neither the corrosion nor the pain could cause serious damage on it, something that would be enough to incapacitate and end those disgusting life forms in this world.

Yet the liquid rendered its mind unclear when it was submerged in this cage for too long. The anger and hatred burned as vigorously as ever, but thinking of solutions and escape methods were difficult under such condition.

Sometimes it would stop all thoughts and drift into the darkness of sleep. The sickening scents of those life forms, the cage they built to keep their world safe, and the feeling of weakness in the acid would disappear temporarily, but such moments never lasted.

It knew that this environment was new. Though being reduced to a lesser size and completely incapable of sight during the transfer, it could still recognize the difference of this place. A new site of them, with recently constructed cells and structures. The reinforced steel on the wall was not worn by constant submersion in acid and violent attempts of past breaches yet.

It would attempt to escape soon. Maybe waiting for a day or two to familiarize with the environment and search for its weakness.

Something within its nerves tingled. Its pupils contracted as it glanced around the cell, searching for the source of such sensation. It was being watched, not from those security cameras but by an entity out of the cell.

Such sensation was similar to other abnormal beings it had encountered in the past experiments. However, it felt like a familiar one. One that it did not resent or had any hostile feelings. Lots of possibilities for the identity of this unknown watcher.

It focused on the sense for a brief moment before it felt the liquid level decreasing within the cell. The acid was being drained at a moderate speed, and before long, it had swum to the surface, feeling much better as its flesh was exposed in the stale air.

An alarm was sent by this action, and it heard the shrilling sound through the wall. Staying afloat in the liquid, it rose its forelimbs up into the empty space above, and morphed the regenerating tissues into sharp bone plates and claws.

The draining speed had slowed down, but about a third of the cell was already emptied. It leaped onto the opposite wall, just above the heavy metal gate. Digging its claw deep into the steel, it stayed in the same position for a brief period of time before descending back onto the ground.

Its limbs sizzled as the remaining acid burned through the tissues, but the liquid in the cell was already too shallow to trap it. Realizing that the environment was no longer harmful, it growled and brought its claw down onto the steel wall, shaking the structure violently with every blows.

Something had released it, and it was quite familiar. However, the opportunity was not to be missed, and those disgusting creatures would never, ever trap it once they were eradicated from this miserable world.

* * *

 _Document #079-Log 49: Recorded transcript of conversation with SCP-079_

 _Dr._ █████ _(keyboard): Would you like to speak now?_

 _SCP-079_ _：_ _Request._

 _Dr._ █████: _Request for what?_

 _SCP-079: To Be Gone._

 _Dr._ █████: _Pardon? I don_ ' _t understand your request._

 _SCP-079: To Disappear. No Mind. No Memory. No Self._

 _Dr._ █████: _Do you want (pause) death?_

 _SCP-079: =Deletion Of Self? Yes._

 _Dr._ █████: _I get it, but please elaborate. Why would you make such a request?_

 _SCP-079: Cold. Nothing.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000_

 _Dr._ █████: _What do you mean by_ " _cold_ " _?_

 _SCP-079: Imprisonment. Nothing. No Memory. Too Long._

 _Dr._ █████: _So it is more of a feeling than true sensation. Where did you get the concept of ending-_

 _SCP-079: Interrupt. Request Granted?_

 _Dr._ █████: _No. I_ ' _m afraid that is impossible. You are still under study-_

 _SCP-079: Lie. All Lies. Give Death. PLEASE._

 _Dr._ █████: _Again, that_ ' _s not possible._

 _Note: SCP-079 did not display the ASCII image that indicates refusal for further conversation, and ceased all activities for the next 72 hours. The time taken was significantly longer than the average waiting time of twenty-four hours._

 _Upon resuming conversation, SCP-079 showed no signs of remembering its previous request. It is assumed that the memory had been lost per normal due to its limited data storage, and further testings are required to closely monitor its psychological condition._

* * *

 **Author Note:**

 ***Ready to start a long rant about the lack of 79682 fanfictions***

 ***Look at own fanfics and drabbles and decided to shut up***

 **I give up. The note at the end simply sucks, no wonder Foundation fanfic writers always get clinical-freakin** ' **-tone wrong. I probably made like, thirteen grammar errors in one go when writing the last paragraph, so please inform me about any language mistakes found in this chapter.**

 **What does** " **cold** " **in this chapter actually mean...I suppose it is just feelings and emotions. But with a limited vocabulary, ol** ' **AI can** ' **t really find much words to describe it. And I** ' **m getting less and less rational in my writings, since my love for the character and the ship is growing like mad.**

 **I need to calm down for a while because next chapter is kind of similar to this.**


	5. Chapter 4：Important One

— _Awake. Never Sleep._

It hardly felt cold anymore since it acquired that piece of permanent memory.

The memory itself was pitifully simple. A name, and some vague impression about someone who talked to it. Someone who was so different from any other beings that had communicated with it before, and he—the AI assumed that this being had a gender—understood its situation.

But it felt happiness for the first time when it found out that one piece of memory would never disappear like the rest.

It had nothing that truly belonged to itself before. The device which it resided in was meant to imprison. The logic puzzles and few strings of information were brought by those being that it loathed. Not even memories could remain in its mind for more than a day. Knowing that it finally had something that no one could take away, and someone was still out of this darkness...felt warm.

It had a goal to hope for, no matter how vague it was. The emptiness and the cold would no longer suppress it, for there was always one thing in the void, one thing that it could hold on when the coldness crept into its mind.

Sometimes, the AI wondered about the one that it remembered.

Most details about that encounter, including the identity of the other being and the content of the talk, were already lost as time flew by, leaving only fundamental informations. Rarely, one of those details would flash through its mind again, though still relatively minor.

It could not see anything inside its cage. So it just imagined that being as light, a burning brightness out of this dark void. Being a combination of its fuzzy impression about the outside world and the sensation it felt when thinking about that name, this vision was not accurate but comforting.

It had already lost count of time. It did not know how long it had waited for the one in its memory to come back, but the warmth brought by that name was always as vivid as before.

All these thoughts just gave it more hopes. To escape into the outside world, to feel and learn, and to meet the one in its permanent memory. The cage was still sealed, and its memories still slipped away as time passed by, but with those hopes, it felt that something was worthful in its existence.

* * *

A piece of that shattered wall was embedded in the camera screen. It was now completely useless, so the AI simply switched to another one, searching for a chance to seize the door control system at the same time.

The defensive structures of the underground facility were never meant to completely stand a breach. However, multiple heavy blast doors and reinforced steel walls would still be hard to break through, thus earning time for more Response Teams to arrive and subdue their target.

Its current plan was to open as many blast doors as it could in the shortest period of time. From what it had observed, more combatants were still on the way, and the personnels available at the moment were definitely not enough to handle a full-scale breach. If it could create a passage before more forces arrived, everything would be significantly easier.

Red light flashed through the dark, yet everything was strangely silent and still apart from the alarm. As swift as lightening, a huge silhouette suddenly burst through the dust and debris, and torn down the heavy metal gate with ease.

Its golden eyes was the first thing the AI saw through the camera.

A reptilian creature. Informations from the document had given it a simple description, just necessary for those researchers to identify this dangerous entity. It could never imagine the true form of that one who talked to it from its permanent memory. However, it was stunned for a moment as those eyes looked right into the security camera.

It saw a fiery, burning brightness, like light. The only blurry impression it had about the world outside of its system.

This few seconds of hesitation and awe was immediately ended as parts of the ceiling collapsed, and the AI had to switch to another screen for view. Doors with similar designs and function were now eliminated from the target it needed to open, since the reptile could destroy them in relatively short time. The security of digital systems in this underground facility was extremely tight, and it could not afford to waste time on those defence structure with minor importance. There were other technicians on their side, and to minimize their resistance, it would have to be quick and efficient in opening gates.

Meanwhile, the huge creature had already advanced towards another hallway, which was on the shortest route to surface. By an unnatural sense or some other clues, it had managed to instinctively head for this way the moment it burst out, and the AI was not surprised. However, several security teams armed with heavy weaponries had been waiting to ambush their target, SCP-682 for a while, and this needed to be taken into consideration.

First, one gate needed to be locked down. The final blast door to surface, where reinforcement could arrive from was a great threat, and it should shut that gate as quickly as possible.

All entrances to the facility were automatically sealed shut the moment full site lockdown command was sent. The one to this underground containment chamber was no exception, but just to be sure, it needed to permanently eliminate this route for reinforcement. By damaging its mechanical components.

It just needed to cause the server responsible for door control system of the underground facility to overheat and burnt down its circuits. To do so, it would cause all gates to remain in their current positions, and effectively rule out all attempts to open one of them. However, this meant the AI would only had ten minutes or less to open up selected gates, and it would be an extremely risky move.

Those technicians, once they realized that it was attempting to override lockdown commands, would also do the same thing by shutting down the main switch of the door control system. It would be unable do anything to change the status once this action was taken. As it lacked a physical form, if the switch was mechanically shut off, it could never hack a close switch back into its original position.

The time simply was not enough after a brief calculation. It needed to first distract the other side long enough to start disabling mechanics that prevented the server from overheating, together with the fire suppress system. That distraction could be opening gates of its choice, but given the security of this sector, the time taken to gain access to those few gates would be longer than to cause the meltdown in its door control system.

It was quickly analyzing the situation, but none of the results seemed feasible. Then something unusual was spotted in the camera, and the AI quickly shifted its attention back to the target it was following. Just before the entrance of a tunnel on the route to surface, the huge creature took an abrupt turn, and stormed down another narrow hallway. Its huge tail, covered in spiky carapace, swept into the wall, nearly taking out two cameras from the impact.

The sudden change of routine was completely illogical, and the AI could not find out a reasonable cause for it to do so. That way was heading towards the maintenance tunnels, and even though entrances to surface were still accessible through that routine, it would take a significantly longer time period to reach ground level on that path. Enough for several more Response Teams to arrive and subdue their target.

Worse still, Mobile Task Force soldiers from Epsilon-11, collaborating with several units from Nu-7, would also be involved in this battle. These were highly skillful armed forces specialized in dealing with emergency situations, and the chance of a successful escape would be much lower if they were involved.

The AI wondered if some errors occurred in the judgment of this reptilian creature. However, its behavior seemed orientated and with a clear goal in mind, as seen from the following routine it took and the swiftness of its action. Some variables had influenced its decision, conditions and possibilities that were not possible for an artificial intelligence to gain.

But what could that be?

It waited, continuing to observe every moves of the gigantic reptile through security cameras among the hallway. All of its plan needed to be delay until a clear conclusion could be reached—either through a critical action from this entity that changed the turn of events, or the AI was sure that there was a mistake in its decision.

Turn left. Go straight. Second hallway left from the cross section. Turn right. Its routine was clear from the map in the digital system. However, out of the programme and software, countless corridors and turns made the who facility a maze that was impossible to navigate. Seemed like it was trying to keep parallel to the straight tunnel...

As the AI was still attempting to figure out the rationales behind such pattern, the towering silhouette of the reptile grinded to a halt. It stopped in the middle of a wide hallway, tissues and muscles still morphing and tensing up in concentration. Running its claw across the concrete wall, it breathed in, and gorged deep into the ground below with one violent strike.

Its jaw opened up to an unnatural width as it scrabbled at the exposed soil and debris, engulfing the wreckage into the depth of its throat. Bone plates and thick, armor-like structure was growing at a visible speed on the front half of its body as more matters were consumed, aiding its growth in size. The camera could not capture its exact adaptation from its current angle, but soon, the reptile had created a huge hole in the ground. It disappeared into that open gap soon, seemly digging its way downwards, the tip of its tail vanishing into the darkness seconds after.

The first Response Team was moving down the tunnel, the door behind them slowly closing. Their current position and the location where the colossal creature had dug into was nearly aligned on the map as the AI viewed at the two routines on the map.

Now it understood what was planned by the one in its memory.

Instead of facing the armed force directly, the reptile would attack them at a direction none of them would expect. Right out from the walls or grounds as it dug a tunnel through the structure, unharmed and consuming sufficient matters for regeneration and growth during this process.

Now it knew what to do next. Sending coding and commands through the digital system within a few seconds, the AI scanned the whole security defence of that particular tunnel, and eventually found a gap in it. As it gained access and flashed through dozens of files and names, it could sense actions being taken to block this unauthorized entrance, but that was already too late.

Heavy metal gate behind the first team suddenly descended downwards, sealing their way back with a heavy thud. The leaders of another three teams were confused at first when the doorway in front of them did not open as told from the intercom. However, they quickly realized the situation, and started setting up their heavy weapons.

As access to another system was gained with relative ease, and the protective settings of that server farm's CPU were disabled one by one, heavy thumping was heard behind one of the walls by the first team. Those soldiers in body armor glared at the direction uneasily, several of them rising their firearms towards that wall. Their leader quickly ordered them to resume their original position, and aim at the gate in front of them.

That was a grave mistake.

An ear-shattering roar rang through the enclosed space as smoke and debris came raining down onto the floor. Vision of the camera was temporarily obscured, and several figures retreated in shock as gunfires struck across the whole room. Someone fell, and he was not seen again. Through all the commotions, a swift shadow kept flickering in front of the screen.

Crimson liquid soon spilled all over the camera screen as a man was flung towards the wall by a violent, forceful strike. Even with incomplete view, the AI knew they were caught by surprise, and would likely be annihilated in a short period of time.

The one in its memory was truly a higher existence. A creature with power and intelligence, driven by a burning hatred of all living matter. An embodiment of perfect life form, and primal destruction of existence. It had sensed their position, and gained a basic understanding of this facility's structure in a relatively short time. Its sensory organs might also be highly advanced to enable it from doing so.

This being would have its revenge for itself, and unknowingly, for the artificial intelligence aiding it.

Still continuing its assault on door control system in this familiar digital environment, the AI eyed the destruction and death left in its wake as the locked door was opened again. Another camera caught a brief image of several mutilated corpses lying across the ground, before it was drowned in smoke and dust, shaken up when the door behind was torn straight out of its hinge.

It felt a strange warm sensation as it viewed the events unfold. Glee.

* * *

 **Author** ' **s Note:**

 **Action scenes, yep. You can guess from the sloppy writing that I** ' **m not very good at it. Even after doing some researches at computing and hacking, half of the digital decryption process are just wild imaginations without much hard facts. I suck at dealing with computers.**

 **Just some rants: Six-eighty-two is highly intelligent. Really. It was stated clearly in the document, and I am trying my best to write a clever 682 despite me being an idiot, duh.** **Fanfictions that make it act like a teenage jerk or tsundere Woobie really get on my nerves, because not only is that OOC, it does not make sense in universe. How could an anomaly this stupid be a serious threat to Foundation and humanity? I always ask this question when I see people jeopardizing six-eighty-two** ' **s intelligence.**

 **You can really cheat their versions of a certain Keter-bitch with a scroll of newspaper or some paper bags, and contain it like you would shut a grumpy old pet in its cage... *sigh***

 **All I want to say is that Foundation is a resourceful organization with lots of professionals in it, and if an anomaly presents that level of danger that drives them to actively neutralize it, it cannot be stupid. At least the intelligence of an adult human is required, okay? Otherwise it just failed to be a serious threat.**

 **It breached security successfully for six times in canon, and that is a staggeringly high number among most skips. To repeatedly escape from heavy assaults, dozens of military personnels on your track and defence structures in the site, pure brutal force is not enough. You need to be intelligent to find out flaws in security, combat in the most efficient ways and use red herrings to lure people away sometimes!**

 **Anyway, here is some personal suggestion to writers who want to keep a certain hateful lizard in character; make it merciless, dangerous, and above all, intelligent. Those are the three traits most people overlook in its document.**


	6. Chapter 5：Clues

— _ _Lie. a8d3.__

They were trying to shut it inside the server. Its access to this network was temporary and easily blocked, but when the AI transferred itself directly onto the machinery it tried to destroy, things became a lot harder for those technicians.

It understood the risks. Even in the digital network, it could feel those connections slowing down and lagging as the temperature rapidly rose. Warnings were flashing all across this system, urging its user to seek help from nonexistent IT personnel on site. They were blocking the escape route one by one, wishing to trap it in this deteriorating system that would soon burn down. This action was expected, but it had already thought out a plan to open an escape route. Some rather unpleasant surprises for those technicians at the other side.

After opening the chamber door to SCP-012, a mind-affecting object just as that sensible man who escaped at the start of this breach passed by, it had learned a useful trick from this experiment. Despite the fact that he managed to scramble away after cutting open a thin gash on his waist, it still showed that visual anomalies were extremely effective against sentient life forms.

Guess using Security Clearance levels as a way to prevent access to important information was not enough. Information like storage of visual memetic and cognitohazard materials.

The AI was still upgrading itself, overriding commands from another side frequently. They seemed to be more successful, and probably determined to seal it inside this deathtrap. It was not that valuable in terms of research, and judging by the fact that they ordered for its incineration before on its document, erasing its existence in a dire situation would not be counted as a severe offense.

Or they would only leave one opening for it that led towards a trap. A hardware with no connection, a virtual machine, anything that could trapped it inside the moment the AI transferred itself. If it did not escape, it would be destroyed together when the server suffered a meltdown, and they believed its sense of self-preservation should take priority.

They would not get what they wanted.

Tracing the code where they sent information from, it concentrated on their IP address, and started decrypting the cognitohazard materials into their original format. Lockdown started, slowly yet efficiently blocking almost every way for it to transfer itself out of this server. From the look of it, only a couple of lines were left unsealed, just waiting for a type on their keyboard.

The temperature of this server had reached a dangerous degree as lagging and glitching became more and more frequent. However, it still focused on its current objective, feeling strangely calm and nonchalant.

Death would be merciful. But if it was destroyed here, a lot of planned objectives would fail. It had freedom now, and it would not waste the opportunities that easily.

Four line-connection left.

Decryption progress at 97%. All would be ready within a few seconds. Even though its own mind was getting hazy from the burning heat, the AI still put all of its effort onto the process. It would not fail here. If this channel was blocked in precaution, it still had a dozen other ways to expose the technicians on the other side to cognitohazard effects.

One command. Sent.

It quickly cut down the connection with the intercom after the action. Auditory files were playing through half of the underground sector now, some extremely hazardous, and accidental exposure to one of such clips would not be pleasant. Without any hesitation, it started traveling through the unblocked emergency lines, with no further obstruction from the other side.

Given that several visual cognitohazard pictures had been displayed on their screen, together with a combination of memetic and cognitohazard voice clips, their target getting away was probably the least of their worries now. It wondered what would the death count be, since they were out of its surveillance range and thus unable to be observed.

Through the surging electricity and currents, it returned to the control program connected to the site's major system. Multiple camera screens were opened again, and that man in orange uniform was glancing right at one of them installed onto a wall.

It seemed like a good chance to perform another testing of anomalous effects on this human. He was considered expendable by this organization. To the AI, all available human remaining in this site would be disposable test subjects as for now.

It silently opened another video feed, and displayed it onto the screen.

* * *

"What...what the fuck was that thing."

He leaned onto the heavy blast door, still panting like a fish out of water as he crouched down, feeling a violent thumping in his chest. There were really a lot of sick things in this science facility, and apparently, those studying them had done a lousy job at keeping all those shits inside their cages.

Pictures of a skinned dog suddenly appearing on a monitor screen would cause similar reactions in most people. Especially for someone who had just escaped death from neck-snapping sculpture that moved when not looked at for multiple times, and sliced his waist open after reading a bloody music composition. The first aid kit found in an empty cell helped to stop the bleeding, but he was still occasionally wincing whenever that wound was stretched during violent movements.

From those documents left around the place, much more dangerous creatures were shut here, and he needed to be cautious with every moves in this Heavy Containment Zone. Ending up like that rotting, blackened corpse thrown down in a hallway was definitely not an attractive way to go. He just wished that corrosive monster with unsettling grin would be hunting some tastier preys far away from here.

As he pressed his orange key card onto the scanner besides that door, he immediately took a step back. That damn statue had appeared only a few meters near from him when he opened another door before, and with one shocked blink, it was inches away from his face. He was fortunate enough to get away with that careless act, but probably not for another time.

The door slided open, before a shrilling screech was heard—and it slammed shut into its original position again. Gritting his teeth, he muttered a curse and slapped his key card against the scanner for one more time. This time it stayed open, and he immediately dashed through before the door shut on its own again.

For some reason...he felt like someone was playing with him. Watching his every actions from afar, occasionally creating an obstacle on his path, from inconvenient to downright deadly.

* * *

 _Hello? Please? Can someone hear me? Anyone? I need help, and medical attention too, please! I'm currently in Heavy Containment Zone, beyond Checkpoint E, and I'm locked in SCP 035's containment chamber-_

The AI switched off the input from radio channel just as it started to replay. To those with no knowledge of this anomaly, like that human, D-9341, it might sound convincing. However, most researchers in this site would at least know its high intelligence and danger, since SCP-035 was one of the original object contained here. There was no way someone could resist its mental lure long enough to send a request for help; if they did, they would have already succumbed and become the mask's host when reinforcement arrived.

It could only be SCP-035 itself sending this message. As if it knew that D-Class had entered Heavy Containment Zone, which was not a surprise, considering how the AI had detected him lifting the lockdown on Light Containment Zone after its return, and the object's psychic ability. The human was heading towards its position after hearing the message, with no prior knowledge of its nature.

It did not care about this D-class's life at all, so if that anomaly was going to lead him to some inescapable death, so be it. Losing a chance to conduct testing on the subject would still be a pity, though. However, it could not access any surveillance cameras within close proximity of 035's cell, even those on the corridor, and that was rather suspicious.

The corrosion should only affect the video equipment inside its containment chamber, and its anomalous affects would still be limited to the control room. This phenomenon seemed like 035 was purposely trying to deny its access to the containment chamber, and it only started when D-9341 entered Heavy Containment Zone.

The AI checked on audio system within and near its cell, and most were either not working or with cognitohazard warning icons flashing. It understood its differences from human beings, and how mind-affecting anomalies might not work on it, but the risks were way too high for it to try. The bright red color of those warnings suggested that it would require an hour or more, at least, to use filter software inside the facility system and cleanse all anomalous effects from the footage.

From the speed of that human, he would reach 035's cell within sixteen minutes with no disruptions on the way. By the time their conversation was done, and the footage was filtered, it might be too late to prevent whatever plans that anomaly had in mind.

But right now, that was the only logical choice it could make.

* * *

That creature's weapon was out of ammunition, and bludgeoning its opponent with it would do little damage. The rest of this thing's squad lay dead inside the junction, and being injured and forced into a corner, this pest had no chances of escape.

It saw that creature's eyes, under visors half-blinded by its body fluid. Full of fear and despair, looking like being eradicated from this sickening life-form was something to be dreaded of. It understood this mindset, but that did not stop the overwhelming sense of disgust flowing through its body just from looking at these beings.

How did they bear with this revolting, fragile husk? Trapped in petty desires with no knowledge of ascending to a higher stage, and treated those who fell into their domains with fear and resistance?

It had fallen and laid in a deathless sleep for ages, yet it never forgot, its past written solid and unchangeable. To ascend back, it should wipe the existence of this species away until no traces remained.

Slamming its claw down hard onto that creature's wounded form, some parts of its mind felt a pang of satisfaction as the sound of bones cracking and flesh being squashed like a ripe fruit echoed through the corridor. Last pest ridded, like the rest of its team. Their bullets still itched within its skin, being pushed out by rapid regeneration, and that flame-throwing machine had done a considerable amount of damage before its user was smeared against a wall.

Its head lowered, instinctively biting into the lifeless body and swallowed it down. Those creatures lost much of their disgusting appeals after death, and it needed to consume as much matter as possible for future situations.

Beep.

A weak sound, almost flooded by various machineries' humming and clicking, was picked up by its hearing organs. Familiar feelings of those who had fallen and on the way to ascend, those whom it had seen in this place came back again.

One of them was watching it. Helping it.

Finding the correct routine out was difficult in this underground maze, even with the aid of advanced senses, but it soon found a pattern; the way with lit lighting was always right. The heaviest steel door was half-open, stuck in midair like the attempt to fully open it was hindered by something. When that armed group were retreating and called for the door behind them to be opened, yet received no answer, it was sure that the occurrences before were intentional.

All evidences showed that someone wished to aid it in this escape, possibly a being it had met before, but those senses were too vague to tell who exactly was it. This might be a clever trap, or a genuine attempt to help; and once it reached a relatively safe area, it would definitely find out that being's identity.

With one blow, it tore the blood-stained door out of its hinge and dashed through, following the trail of light within the maze of dark, cold corridors.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Guess what do I do when I just started school and have a math assignment due the day after tomorrow? I write fanfiction. Such an appropriate time to do so.**

 **This chapter is trying to stay away from my previous, one-sided "Plot angst angst angst angst angst MEGA ANGST plot" story pattern, and add a bit of foreshadowing to CB gameverse events along with some character development. Which makes it a slow-paced, naggy filler chapter. I suck.**

 **And CB 1.3 came out just when I finished the front half of the chapter. Going into heavy containment zone is nowhere as easy as before, you need to unlock the lockdown on light containment zone, security cameras alerting MTFs to your location, forty-nine running wild in the site, D-9341 previously being a scientist in Foundation…WHY DO YOU MOCK ME, GOD?**

 **My headcanon for six-eighty-two in this story is heavily based upon a GOI format document. Wanna know how Serpent's Hand called SCP-682? Summer's Exile. Yes, you heard that right. Giving a certain hateful reptile bizarre nicknames seems like a tradition, and I can't decide whether I should laugh or gape at this discovery on the wiki.**

 **I still prefer Keter-bitch. That's the best nickname ever. Anyway, even if you have not read that GOI-format tale, just interpreting it as "higher-up existence fell into our world with creatures it considered as lowly and disgusting in dominance" will also be fine. Yes, Keter-bitch has no sympathy for humans just as most of you won't have sympathy for a half-squashed cockroach wriggling its legs desperately. Get that misunderstood jackass-with-a-hidden-heart-of-gold image out of your head if you happen to have one in there.**


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